


Promises and Faith

by Little_vesuvius



Series: Team Free Will, Redux [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Aldritch (?) Can't Spell His Name, And He's Not Sleeping, And so here I have a better explanation, Angel Nerfing doesn't happen, Angelic Grace, Angels Are Not Nerfed, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anti Dean/Lisa as a romantic Couple, Assumes Lisa Braeden lives in Virginia, BAMF Castiel (Supernatural), BAMF Dean Winchester, Because Dean Really Needs It, Because I like playing with canons, Because that about covers how lethal he is, Ben is Dean's son, Bisexual Dean Winchester, Bobby SInger - Freeform, Cas fixed his public records so he looks like an ex-marine, Cas tries, Castiel Has Missing Memories, Castiel Is a Good Parent, Castiel and Dean Winchester Have a Profound Bond, Castiel doesn't understand human emotion, Castiel got beefed up after dying again, Castiel is Awkward, Consistently, Covers the War in Heaven, Crowley is the Exception that Proves the Rule, Deals with some military culture, Dean Gets Therapy, Dean Lies About His Name, Dean Needs More Friends, Dean Winchester Can Kick Your Ass, Dean Winchester Is A Good Dad, Dean Winchester is Protective of Castiel, Dean is the Righteous Man, Dean kept Zachariah's blade, Dean v. a normal human means Dean wins, Dean's mark is more than just a handprint, Death Still Likes Dean, Demons, Demons Are Assholes, Eventual resurrections, Eventually Includes NCIS, Extremely Slow Burn, Fills That Missing Year, For the Nth time, Generally, Gwen Campbell - Freeform, He's about as strong as Zachariah was at full power, Healing from broken soulbonds, How Do I Tag, Humans Have Power Too, Humans are stronger than we all think, I Don't Nerf Things, I Guess Major If You Count Lisa Braeden As Major, I don't, I'm Not Sure How Many Tags This Fic Will Have, Later Crossovers, Later Deals with Gender fluidity and nephilim, Like Actual Supernatural-Resistance Power not just Ingenuity, Like really Gabriel should have lost his, Lisa Is Dean's Friend, Lisa Is a Wild Oats Woman, Lisa is given a Back story, Lisa's family is involved, M/M, Mechanic Dean Winchester, Minor Campbell Characters, Minor Character Death, Multi, New Ways for Angels to restore their Grace, No explicit assault, Not Canon Compliant, OFC - Gene Simmons, OMC - Dylan Watson, Original Character POVs, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Soulless Sam Winchester, POV Third Person Limited, Post-Season 5, Profound Bond really means Cas has a crush, Protector Castiel/Caretaker Dean Winchester, Righteous Doesn't Mean Nice, Samuel Campbell - Freeform, Seriously most of this fic is Dean and Cas PoV, Soulless Sam Winchester, The Archangel Raphael Hates Castiel, Therapy For Hunters Is A thing, Unless I can't make their powers make sense, Very Protective Castiel, Warning for Mentions of Sexual Assault, Warning: Deals with PTSD, Warning: Dean is a sarcastic man, Warning: Demonic possession, Warning: Don't Mess with the Winchesters, Warning: Half-Demons Are Really Terrifying, Warning: deals with memory erasure, Warning: near-demon Dean after torture in Hell, Warrior Castiel, With normal Earth things, adopted family, also dean is so fed up with heaven, and beyond, and didn't, because reasons, but only for a little bit, canon adjacent, death is a girl, like glacial, not a case fic, pov original characters, so does Dean, so does ben, soulmate bonds manipulated, the Grigori are not nice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-08-01 16:40:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16288148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_vesuvius/pseuds/Little_vesuvius
Summary: A rewrite of the missing year after Season 5 to explore what might have happened that year had Castiel not tried so hard to keep Dean out of the war in Heaven and, instead, decided to remain by his side.WARNING: SPOILERS FOR SEASONS 1-6.Prior to the apocalypse, Sam made Castiel swear an oath on his Grace to leave Sam in Hell and take care of Dean when Sam was gone, if Cas survived.  When Castiel returns Dean prays for his help, and Cas joins him on Earth instead of going back to Heaven.  Bound together, things begin to unravel around Dean and Cas, as Heaven begins to fall, Hell starts to rise in the wake of Lucifer's defeat, Earth is nearly overrun by the Children of Eve, Dean discovers family he never knew he had, and the world sets its eyes on the Righteous Man once again as their savior.Begins during the year between Season 5 and 6, canonically; given that Dean takes a year to 'retire' and then gets back into hunting. Inspired in large part by how Castiel's character development was disappointingly retconned in Season 6, and uses the characterization of Castiel from seasons 4 and 5 to explore what could have been done in Season 6 and beyond after the apocalypse.





	Promises and Faith

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is the very first chapter (well, prologue) of my huge, huge, HUGE Destiel AU story that I began after watching Season 6. I got really upset at Castiel's characterization getting completely changed around, and so decided to fix it when I realized-after several season spoilers, haha-that it never got any better.
> 
> I decided to do it myself, starting with the 'year off' the boys take. What follows is this monstrosity of a story that started off as a simple 'what if Cas went to Dean instead of back to Heaven?' question. So, here is the story I always wanted to see, but never got, from Supernatural; the story of Dean and Castiel finally coming together to fix things, and ultimately, starting a family.
> 
> Of course, I also thought it was ridiculous that Soulless Sam never went and looked for Dean. Because even if he didn't care that much, he had to check in on him at least once, right? To be certain Dean held true to his promises, especially because Soulless Sam didn't realize he didn't have a soul at the time. I feel like watching Soulless Sam vs. Sam is like watching Sam who doesn't care about casualties vs. Sam who does, so this is my spin on that. And, really, one of his suppressed desires would definitely be to check in on Dean, because he'd be forcing himself not to a lot of the time.
> 
> Monthly update schedule for 2019.

D-E-S-T-I-E-L

_ (Picks up right after Sam looks in the window, during the end of the Season 5 Finale) _

Sam turned away from the window with a small smile, wondering if he should feel more sorrow than he did.But he really couldn’t bring himself to feel bad about this.

Dean was happy. 

Happy and living the apple-pie life they’d always wanted each other to have, and doing exactly what he’d promised.He’d followed Sam’s last wishes and gone to find Lisa, to find the life Dean had always wanted with her.He’d earned the break after all the shit they’d been through in their lives.And knowing Dean, Lisa would be safe, just like the kid Dean had had with her would be.He wasn’t stupid.

That kid Ben was a dead ringer for Dean, and, happy as they were, he was going to leave them that way.Lisa might’ve lied to Dean once, about his son, but she wouldn’t again.Not when Dean was owning up to his responsibility and doing the right thing. 

Ben was his son, and Dean would be able to retire here, with them.He’d earned it.

Hunting wasn’t really Dean’s thing, not like it was Sam’s.He’d never said he wanted out, not explicitly but Sam was good at reading between the lines.Dean lost a little more of himself every time they couldn’t save someone, falling a little deeper into the darkness hunters fought against.He’d always wanted out, would never truly be happy with hunting for his life, and he had that now.He had that with Lisa, and his kid.Ben. 

He was free.Free of obligation to the hunt.Free of dealing with people who cared more about themselves than him, free of all the senseless death that came along with hunting.Free of the _guilt_ that wrapped him in its clutches so tightly it would never let him go and the emptiness Famine had tried to give him.It was the best thing for Dean, especially with what was coming this year and how much Dean _hurt_ every time an innocent life was taken.Sam and the Campbells could keep him out of it all. 

Keep him safe, away from the pain that the next few years were sure to bring down on all of their heads.

Dean had a girlfriend.A kid.Apple pie and all.The life Sam had wanted for years and years, and never gotten the chance to have. 

Sam had been damn sure Ben was Dean’s kid years ago, and seeing him now, he looked just like Dean had at that age, again.He was even more certain of it now, now that he was really looking for the similarities.And with the way Dean had been acting with Lisa…Sam could leave him there, and know he was safe, and happy.Because he _was_ , now, for once in his life.

Sam couldn’t lie to himself, though.

It hurt.Just a little bit, but it still stung to see how fast Dean had adjusted to life without him.It had only been a month and Dean was starting to smile again, starting to come back from his grief, and it was good but it was—it _hurt_.It was what Sam wanted him to do.But it was _weird_. 

And it didn’t hurt nearly as much as he was expecting; probably a side effect from the Cage. 

Whatever he’d forgotten involved that, too. When he’d been pulled out, he hadn’t been quite the same.He was a better hunter, now.Which meant he’d changed, but that was for the better.

Probably a side effect of overpowering Lucifer.Something about him had changed, forever.And he’d be stronger for it.He…didn’t even really miss the feelings, but—he should have.

Dean didn’t know he was still alive, and didn’t know he was out of the Cage—or how he’d made it out, either, but neither did Sam.The Campbells, their mom’s family, had found him shortly after, wandering around Kansas.Taken him to see his grandpa, Samuel, who’d recognized Sam because of Dean traveling to the past two years ago.He’d not been around before, but Sam was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt; the old man had probably hated John just as much as the rest of the hunting community did, or he’d have come looking for the Winchesters a long time ago.And Dean—being _Dean_ , his brother wouldn’t have accepted any sort of outside help.

Sam had found Dean not too long after, tracked him by using the names they usually did for long term cover.Dean was going by their mom’s name these days; his legal name was now Dean Michael Campbell.But he’d sworn to himself that if Dean was happy, he’d leave him to it.And since the angels seemed to be _finally_ leaving Dean alone, after all the shit they went through, he’d leave Dean here.Happy, free from a life of hunting, from wondering what lay out there in the dark, waiting for him to stumble just into its path. 

They were free to choose what they did with their lives now that the apocalypse was over.Sam was a hunter at heart, but Dean…Dean was a caretaker, a father, and a brother, first and foremost.He hated the angels, and hated everything they stood for, except Cas, who was long-since gone.Without Cas, there was no way Dean would be content just hunting with Sam again.He was healing, finally, from losing Cas to the fight.Sam wasn’t stupid; his brother was stupid in love with that angel, and if Cas was gone, Dean needed to move on.To rekindle his relationship with Lisa if only to get better.So Sam wasn’t going to ruin this for Dean, not when their weird bond was the whole reason Dean had even hunted in the first place.Dean deserved a chance to have the life he so desperately wanted.

Sam didn’t notice the eyes watching him from the alleyway.He didn’t notice them, not because he was unused to being on alert, but because he wasn’t tracking demons in his vicinity right now.They were working with a couple of Crowley’s lackeys to stop the monsters from raising whoever or whatever they’d gotten into after the apocalypse.This one was probably one of theirs, or the Campbells would have reacted to it by now.Since they didn’t, he figured it was one of Crowley’s he could feel.

He was wrong, not that he knew it.

Sam had been followed to Dean’s house, and even as he watched Dean laugh, picking up the kid—Ben—and kiss Lisa on the cheek, the perfect father, he’d doomed them.Dean had a family, the perfect apple-pie life—everything they’d ever wanted and aspired to as kids, and adults.He’d never thought either of them would have it, not after Jess died and Cassie rejected Dean.But here, Dean was happy. 

Cas was… _gone_ , or he’d have tried to set Dean up with the angel.Dean would’ve been able to—well, it didn’t matter now.Cas was gone, and Lisa was here.

And Dean was happy _now_ , starting to figure out how to live again, and Sam couldn’t take that away from Dean for their grandfather’s mission and what was coming.Not unless something really big and _really_ bad happened.Dean couldn’t bear being caught in another war; not without Cas by his side.He was hurt badly enough when the angel had died for them the first time.Sam sent up a prayer this time, to Cas, to leave Dean to his apple-pie life if Dean were truly happy.And to tell Dean he was alive, if the angel was still here.Still alive.

Not that he held out much hope for that.

Cas had come back once, but coming back from Michael _smiting him_ would’ve had to be something else entirely.One miracle?Good.Two were impossible.There would be no third chance; of that Sam was nearly certain, but miracles did happen sometimes.Only occasionally, though.And not for them.

Sam could handle the Campbells’ mess on his own.Dean shouldn’t have to clean up a mess that wasn’t his in the first place, and Aldrich had been the idiot responsible for letting the last vamp get away. 

Mind made up, Sam smiled at the window, silently wishing his brother all the happiness in the world with his new life with his son. 

The minute Sam turned and walked away, it hid, leaving Sam to walk to the Campbells’ old van.He got in the back, nodding to Gwen and Aldrich who were in the front.They hadn’t taken any monster with them this time, so he could sit in the back comfortably and stretch out.

“Definitely not him,” he lied, deciding to keep Dean out of this at all costs. “I was wrong.He’s just a civilian with a military past.Same name as us, but no relation to the Campbell clan.If there is, it’s pretty distant.”

“Damn,” said Aldrich “That brother of yours would’ve been useful.You went up against, what, Satan?”

Which was why Sam was keeping him out of this war.This wasn’t Dean’s fight.This was Sam’s fight; leaving Hell had left a part of Purgatory open and let a lot of monsters free, and it was his responsibility to fix that mess.His mess, his problem; Dean had gone through enough with the apocalypse.

Sam coughed “Yeah, but like I said, Dean’s good at disappearing.If he doesn’t want to be found, we can’t find him, not with the extra protections we added during the apocalypse.He’s a damn good hunter, but if he’s gone to ground, we’ll never find him.I’m willing to bet he’ll be right on top of us if something big happens, but he’s probably figured out what’s going on and gone to ground already.”

“Hmm,” said Gwen, starting the car, smirking at him “That’s a good quality, really.Means it’s harder for things to find him.” Sam nodded, taking a swig of the whiskey they kept in the back. “How long did he train for, again?”

“Ever since the house fire.He kept me out of it for a good six or seven years, something about not eating well enough for that, but he was four when he started,” said Sam, shaking his head. “He didn’t try to keep me out of it completely, but he wouldn’t let me really train until I was eight.Made a good case of it to an ex-Army sniper, but that’s Dean.He’s really stubborn.”

“Huh, well that’s different,” said Aldrich, as he started the car. “But family’s family.He sounds a damn good brother, though.Wish Chris was nice enough ta do that for me,” Gwen rolled her eyes, and Sam did too.

Christian Cambpell was an asshole, but he wasn't that bad.Then again, Sam hadn’t grown up with him and Gwen had.She’d probably had a better judgment of him than Aldrich, who was his cousin—but maybe not.Sam looked out the window, trying not to give away the game.He’d made the right choice here.Which meant not taking Aldrich’s bait.

“See anything that might be a monster?” asked Gwen, as they pulled out of the slow lane “Or no?”

“Nothing interesting.Just a normal suburban neighborhood.Might have a few hunters in the area, but I didn’t see any wards,” said Sam. “No obvious ones, at least.”

There were some less-than-obvious ones on Dean’s house, but that wasn’t something he was going to mention.He already knew better than to mention the demons.Last time he’d asked he’d been given a crash course in why they shouldn’t talk about them, and who knew if Aldrich or Gwen were in the know about Samuel’s deal?

“Typical,” muttered Gwen as they pulled onto a much busier road, and Sam turned to look out the window.

She turned the radio on, one of the _Top 20_ stations, and the sound of Christina Aguilera’s _Falling In Love Again_ filled the car, letting Sam relax a little.His cousins didn’t think anything of leaving Dean there because they didn’t know he was lying to them in the first place.And now he had the time to think about what was going on with the mess Aldrich had landed them in. 

Why would Lucifer being gone bring a resurgence of monsters like shifters and vampires? 

They had to catch one if they wanted an answer.Sam smiled to himself, thinking of how easy it would be, with everything that had happened, to get an answer.The name Winchester would ensure they got answers—they’d taken down _Satan_ , the “baddest bitch of them all,” so that meant he’d probably get some really good information the next time he found one.

D-E-S-T-I-E-L

**Author's Note:**

> I promise this story gets more interesting. But it needed a bit of setup first, so, here we are. The next chapter is where things really kick off, but this is the prologue/prelude. I'm still editing the next chapter, but it's completely written and I am working out the kinks right now.
> 
> Just an advance warning: I'm not a big fan of Lisa Braeden. I know some fans like her, but I've never really seen her as more than Dean's beard. She would have worked as his friend, I think, but she lied to Dean about Ben and, well. How would she have gotten his blood 9 months later to be certain Ben's not his son? Sam suspects, but really, most of us do, I think. She did her best during that year, but she's like, the idyllic form of Dean's 'apple pie' life, and I think that what I've seen of her makes her an unsuitable partner for him.
> 
> I don't usually do this, but I had to introduce Dean to hunting again. So I did it in a maybe-typical way, but I plan on every single one of Dean's friends being fleshed out. Who knows, we might even see Cassie again.


End file.
